Personal Experience w/ Being in NG and College Life

November 11th, 2012, 12:12 AM

So I am currently a high school student that is very seriously interested in joining the National Guard. I just had a talk with my family today about joining the NA and they said that they were very much impressed by my mature decision. They also appreciated that I thought it through. So my plan is to enlist while I attend my college education. My family members did bring about a good idea however: They were concerned that if I joined I may have difficult juggling my schedules between the armed forces and college life. So I come to the forums asking for anybody with experience in the National Guard with their college education. PLEASE, I ask that you be honest and unbiased. I really would like to get a sense of how life is going between the two. Did you feel overwhelmed? Did you regret/not regret the decision? Why? Have you ever been deployed for active duty while in school? And if so, how did they affect your schooling?
Sincerely,
Ben

I enrolled in my freshman year of college right before I went to AIT. Once I returned from AIT I flew to pre-deployment training 8 days later. After a 15 month deployment I returned just in time to start the spring semester. So I found a part time job and went to school full time using the GI Bill. As long as I didn't overwhelm myself with too many credit hours or overwhelm myself with too many work hours everything was gold. With drill being only one weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer it was really easy to balance the NG, college and work. Sometimes drill can take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I advise that you don't take any classes that meet on Friday or Saturday.

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I enrolled in my freshman year of college right before I went to AIT. Once I returned from AIT I flew to pre-deployment training 8 days later. After a 15 month deployment I returned just in time to start the spring semester. So I found a part time job and went to school full time using the GI Bill. As long as I didn't overwhelm myself with too many credit hours or overwhelm myself with too many work hours everything was gold. With drill being only one weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer it was really easy to balance the NG, college and work. Sometimes drill can take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I advise that you don't take any classes that meet on Friday or Saturday.

This was exactly the type of info I was looking for! So when you went out on your 15 month deployment did the college have any issue with your extended absence? Or does the army make arrangements with your university to allow the leave of absence? And also I greatly appreciate your explanation of your schedule and recommendation for drill days. Thank you very much, this response gets two thumbs undoubtedly for being short and sweet.

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The university saw it as too bad too sad. I lost my in state scholarship (free tuition first 2 years for graduating in top 10%) because it had to be used the semester right after graduating high school. They didn't care that I was deployed. I also had to re-apply for the university after I got back even though I was accepted just 15 months prior. The rules state you have to re-apply if there is ever a break of 12 months or longer between attendence. Because of this I couldn't start the spring semester right after returning from deployment because I didn't have time to go through the long process of getting accepted again. So I went to a community college instead and used my GI Bill benefits, which were really nice after deployment. Tuition was far cheaper at the community college and all the classes I was taking were transferable to any university.

When it comes to college and the Army the individual has to do 99% of all the leg work, paper work, asking questions and finding the right people who can give you answers. The veterans assistance office at the school is always a good place to start with getting help and advice along with your states National Guard education center. Also talk to people in your unit that are going to school and find out what kind of state specific benefits might be available to you.